A Concerned and Helping Hand
by accioamber
Summary: HouseWilson friendship. Something's going on with House, something that will change his life forever... Apr 23 COMPLETE.SPOILERS FROM ALL SEASONS!Mainly SSN 2...Some swearing...BAD SUMMARY!
1. Fallen

**NOTE: I do not, in any way, shape or form, own House, M.D., any of its characters, or anything to do with it at all. Just meddling in the characters lives. They belong to FOX. And this story comes from my OWN MIND. Any reference to any other story is purely coincidental. thanks!**

**A/N: This is my first FanFic ever, so please… BE HARSH! I need to know if what I'm writing is pure crap. Just know that I'm trying. This story may evolve into something more, with HouseCam, or something. I don't know right now where it's going. Just starting out, like I said. And if anything medical ever comes into the storywhich may or may not happen I apologize if I get some things wrong. I'm not a doctor. PLEASE R&R!!!!!!!!! 33**

**Gregory House was in trouble. He was laying on the floor of his bedroom, in his apartment, just staring blankly off into space, unable to think of anything else but the pain. **

**It was bad today, worse than usual, worse than it had been in a long time. It had started as the same old pain, waking him up around 3:00 in the morning, like usual. He'd downed the usual 3- Vicodin combo and drifted off 5 minutes later into a drugged sleep. It woke him, surprisingly, again, at 4:30 am. The throbbing had started then, and it just escalated out of control from there. He couldn't deal with it anymore. At 6:00, he'd gotten up to get a shot of morphine, but as soon as he'd taken a single step, hot white pain flooded his body and before he'd known it, he'd been crumpled on the floor. **

**He'd waited until 6:30 and several failed attempts to get up, which had only resulted in more pain, before he paged Wilson urgently. Wilson was there in moments. **

**James Wilson arrived at House's apartment still in his green plaid PJ pants and white t-shirt, blond hair rumpled. Sleep was still written clearly all over his face, and he called, "House! House, what's wrong? Where are you? Are you ok?" "In here," Wilson heard a tiny voice say angrily. James nearly collided with a door as he skidded around the corner and into House's bedroom, finding the collapsed House on the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been snipped. "It's bad, Jimmy. It's bad." House said, tearing up. Tears pulsed down the sides of his face.**

"**Come on, it's ok. Come on, let's get you up, back into bed. You're gonna be ok. It's gonna be just fine." The words James spoke were to pacify himself as much as House. The truth was, as much of an ass House was, no matter how many times he'd been a jerk to James, and no matter how many people he treated like crap, Greg was his _best friend_. He couldn't deny the fact that it tugged at his heartstrings every time he saw Greg suffer. And not to mention the fact that two things were different this time: 1)Nothing ever made House cry. And 2)It had to be bad if he was actually asking for help. Help was not in Gregory House's vocabulary. **

**But James ignored all of that as he walked behind Greg, put his hands underneath his armpits and tugged. With a bit of House's strength and some of James', he managed to get House standing enough where he could maneuver himself to a sitting position on the bed. "Thank you. You…you really helped me. Thanks." "No problem." It really had been no problem. House was downright light to lift. Something had been itching at the back of James' mind for a few weeks about House, but he hadn't realized what it was until now. **

"**House, how long has this increased pain been here? Is it anywhere else? Has anything been going on lately?" A small look flitted across House's face. "What?" James asked. "Nothing! Jeez, why do you always treat me as if I'm a little kid? I'm 47 years old! I don't need your help all the time!" "Hey, _you're_ the one who paged _me_! I'm just trying to get to the bottom of all of it, see if there's a psychological compound! Excuse me for caring!" **

"**_I'M NOT CRAZY_!"**

"**Well, you're certainly_ acting_ like it right now! And did you ever think that _maybe_ the _PHYSICAL_ might be a hell of a lot worse than the _PSYCHOLOGICAL_? Maybe I'm just _daring _to let myself hope that for once your body isn't falling apart beneath you again! Maybe I care! I'm _SO_ sorry!" **

"**Get out of here! I can't believe I ever paged YOU! I would rather have dealt with Cuddy's screeching than your never ending, incessant 'Oh, I'm Dr. Superhero Wilson, here to save the world, because just because I GIVE A DAMN makes a huge difference on all the injustices of the world!'! And you don't care! You just want everyone to think you care so that you get all the pats on the back for sticking with a crippled, misanthropic son of a bitch! Well, I'm just tired of it! So get the hell out!" **

**Wilson stalked out angrily, thinking. House had blown up at him, which wasn't so new. But what WAS new was the fact that it had happened so quickly into a conversation. That meant that something, somehow, somewhere, something was eating at House… and he had to find out, to save his friend. **

**A/N: So, what do you think? I hope you like it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE R&R! I need feedback! **


	2. A New Little Problem

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own 'em. Still my own story.

A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter of a song of House reflecting on what happened the night before with him and Wilson and the hidden problem Wilson thought he was having in the last chapter. I've been listening to this song for three hours straight and decided I loved it so much I had to put it in. It's not really his favorite. House doesn't seem like a Fray guy, anyways. Lol The song is "All at Once" by The Fray. It's amazing, you should check it out sometime. Plus I wrote another story, so check it out! As always R&R! Thanks! And also for some reason, my breaks aren't working so they will be house . Just so I don't confuse anyone!

house house house 

Gregory House spun around the corner on his motorcycle, one of his favorite songs blasting in his ears. His iPod was on repeat, and "All at Once" was going over and over. As he rode and listened, he thought about his confrontation last night with Wilson, among other things…

_There are certain people you just keep coming back to  
She is right in front of you  
You begin to wonder could you find a better one  
Compared to her now she's in question_

It was all correct, except for the pronouns. Wilson kept coming back to him, even though House just kept pushing him away. Like last night. Last night hadn't been fair to Wilson. But something was on House's mind…

_And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same_

Maybe you want her, maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there

Stacy was on House's mind. She'd been in contact with him recently. She'd wanted to discuss their relationship, among something else.

"Greg…there's something I haven't told you. Something…important."

_Looking for the right one you line up the world to find  
Where no questions cross your mind  
But she won't keep on waiting for you without a doubt  
Much longer for you to sort it out_

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

He hadn't believed it when he'd picked up the phone and it was her. Disbelief had settled in before irritation. She was supposed to be gone, away from him. He'd sent her away, damn it! Didn't she realize being away from him was the best thing for her, and him?

"What is it, Stacy? Because I'm busy. I have…stuff…to do." He muttered. In reality, he had nothing to do. The song reminded him of why he was alone. Because he compared everyone to Stacy. She'd been…perfect. Telling him not to rush anything when he crippled his leg, telling him everything was ok. And she had…saved him. He probably would've died had it not been for her. No questions had crossed his mind with Stacy. But, he'd driven her away. She _HADN'T_ kept waiting. And he didn't blame her for hating him, if she did. He'd broken her heart twice.

_Maybe you want her, maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there  
Maybe you want it, maybe you need it  
Maybe it's all you're running from  
Perfection will not come_

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes  
We'd never know what's wrong without the pain  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

The song had jumped into his mind when she'd replied. Perfection…

"Look, Greg. I know you're not perfect. You never claimed to be. That's why…I'm forgiving you. For everything you've ever done to hurt me."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you calling me, bringing up old memories that are just hurting us both?" he'd said, fear pulsing through his body, his pulse thumping in his ears.

"My therapist suggested I say this before I say what I really need to say. Which is the main reason I called."

_Maybe you want her, maybe you need her  
Maybe you've started to compare to someone not there  
Maybe you want it, maybe you need it  
Maybe it's all you're running from  
Perfection will not come_

Maybe you want her, maybe you need her  
Maybe you had her, maybe you lost her to another  
To another

"Mark and I…" Damn him, Greg thought. He'd lost her. Lost her to another…

"Mark and I are dying. It's ironic really, that we'd both get cancer at the same time. His is lung. Mine is pancreatic. Spreading to my brain and heart. I…" She was choking on her tears. "I don't want to die, Greg. I've got too much left to do. I still haven't been to Paris. I haven't started my own firm. I haven't lived. And I haven't seen my daughter graduate from high school, or college, or hell, even preschool yet."

"What? You have a daughter?" He couldn't believe it. Stacy, a mother? She was too absorbed in Mark and her work.

"Yes, Greg. I have a daughter. And this is the real reason why I called. You have a daughter, too. And you're going to be the one who has to take care of her when I die in a few weeks."

house house house 

A/N: So, what do you think? I liked this chapter! R&R! Por favor!!!


	3. Surprise!

Disclaimer: Still don't 'em. Still my own story.

A/N: I got the name for this chapter or, well, part of it, from the song "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off" by Panic!At the disco. I looove that song. **There's quite a bit of swearing in this chapter, just so you know**. This chapter is mostly Stacy explaining to House everything. Since I was asked, I'm going to try and A) Make this chapter longer and B) Add more Wilson. I was going to do that last one anyways, I love Wilson. Thanks for all the reviews and messages I've been getting, they really help! Again, my breaks will be house house house. **WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE AND TWO!**

**House house house **

House pulled his motorcycle into a handicapped parking space close to the building, trying to push his thoughts of his conversation a week and half ago with Stacy out of his mind. Maybe she'd been kidding around. Maybe "laughter" was the next step in her therapy program or something…

But then he saw her. She was standing there, next to her car in a space on the opposite side of the parking lot, facing him. He blinked and managed to get himself off of his motorcycle. He stood there for a few seconds before grabbing his cane off the side and walking over to her.

"Hi, Stacy." He said, softly. "You…you look like…hell."

It was true. She was very thin. Her cheeks were gaunt, and her clothes hung off of her body. She had a ski hat clamped firmly on top her head, yet no black hairs poked out of the end. The chemo must have made her lose her hair, he thought, a pang hitting him in the heart. The right side of her face was drooping a bit. He felt bad for her.

"Well, you haven't changed in the last couple of years. Still the same snide Gregory House. You know, this is what pancreatic cancer does to you. It's not all fun and games." She pulled her face into an awkward smile that looked more like a grimace. "I'm not even supposed to be walking around."

"Then you shouldn't be. You know, that was a real shitty thing you pulled last week. Lying to me about having a kid. Just because you're dying doesn't mean you get a free pass to mess around with people…" House said angrily.

Stacy bit her lip. "I was not lying, Greg. You think I would lie about something like that? Did I sound like I was 'messing around'? You don't believe me, go see for yourself. She's in the backseat." She said forcefully.

He settled for saying, "Where's Mark? Shouldn't he be here to help you pull this off? You never seemed like the type to take a joke this far, Stace." He wouldn't believe it. No way did Stacy have a kid. No way did he have a kid.

"Mark, sadly, couldn't come with me today. He had to say _his_ goodbyes to Addie yesterday. Seeing as he died around 11:30 last night at Princeton General." Tears poured down Stacy's face. She'd lost her husband, the man she loved, last night, and Greg wasn't going to make it any easier for her, she knew.

"I'm… sorry." He muttered. And he truly was. Mark hadn't been that bad of a guy, he hadn't gotten on House's nerves that much… oh, who the hell was he kidding? Mark had been a royal pain in House's ass.

"Thank you. But now, I've come to say my goodbyes. To Addison and to you."

"Who the hell is Addison?"

"Greg, she's your daughter. And don't try to deny it, you can run a paternity test! She's _yours_."

"Oh, stop with this nonsensical bullshit! I don't have a kid!"

"Stop trying to deny it!" Stacy said angrily, coughing weakly into a glove on her right hand. "She is almost a year old. You know _damn well_ that I wasn't sleeping with Mark the time she was conceived! You were the only one I slept with." She whispered the last part. She didn't want all of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital to know about her one night stand with their crankiest doctor.

"But… you never told me! You never told me…"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I never told Mark that she wasn't his either… He just thought she was conceived before we stopped…well, you know. He never was very bright…"

"You can say that again…" House got a guilty look on his face. He felt a little bad for bashing the dead. But then again, the dead was Mark Warner.

Stacy moved to the backseat of her car, where she opened the door, revealing an infant car seat. That was holding a small little girl.

She unbuckled the child and picked her up. House stiffened. Oh, god. She looked like him. How could Mark have been so stupid? The baby was most obviously his.

She had thick, dark hair sprouting out of the top of her head, which came from Stacy. But she had his chin, a tiny miniature version of his nose, and, oh, boy, she had his eyes. Fierce blue eyes that sparked when she blinked in the light of the cold air. He staggered backwards.

"Do you see now, Greg? She's her daddy's daughter." Stacy bounced the baby lightly on her hip.

**House house house house**

Wilson nearly dropped his tray of chicken mole on the ground when he saw what he saw.

He was standing on his balcony, waiting for House, who was later than usual. He'd wanted to make reconciliation for what had happened the day before. He hadn't seen House yesterday. He'd phoned Cuddy, saying he was in too much pain to work. But there had been no phone call today, so Wilson assumed House would be in.

House was always late to work, but an hour was longer than usual. He'd been watching the parking lot for any signs of a beat up, orange motorcycle sporting a crippled drug addict on the back. 10 minutes later, he saw House skidding into the parking lot. He'd gotten off the motorcycle, grabbed his cane, but didn't go anywhere near the front entrance to the hospital. Instead, he walked over to a car, where a thin woman was standing outside of it. Was she someone sick House had decided to… help?

Instead, he began yelling at the woman. Five minutes later, the woman retrieved a baby from inside the car and…what? She had put the little girl in _House's _arms!

What the hell was going on? Wilson set down his tray of food and went inside, where he raced downstairs…

**House house house house**

"Stacy, I can't…"

"You can, Greg. I have every faith in you. Her name is Addison Grace Warner. I suppose you'll want to have her last name changed. Whatever. You'll learn to love her. Everything she does, every little thing, will fascinate you. I've written several letters, to you, and her. They're in this bag." Stacy gestured to the black diaper bag she'd set on the ground. "She is 9 ½ months old. Her birthday is February 10."

"Stacy, I don't…"

"Greg, don't worry. Everything will be fine. You just need to relax and know that I have faith in you. You have Wilson to help if anything goes wrong. Cuddy, Cameron, maybe even Chase and Foreman. You have better friends than you deserve." Stacy gave him a wise look.

"But, I don't have anything to take care of a baby. So you'll just have to take her back. Put her with someone else." He smiled triumphantly, sure that he'd found the cure-all to Stacy's demands.

"I knew you wouldn't have anything, so I had all of Addie's things put in a storage facility just about a mile from your apartment. The key and directions to it are in that bag. Now, it's time for me to say goodbye to my baby." She choked on the last part of the sentence. She took Addis from House's arms and hugged the baby tightly.

"Oh, Addie, baby. Mommy loves you. And she is so sorry. But I had to do this. You will be safe with your daddy. Be good, and know that Mommy loves you and will always miss you." She softly kissed Addison's cheek and handed her to House. "And goodbye to you, Greg. And thank you. I'll eternally be grateful…wherever I may be in a few days. I always loved you," she whispered into his ear. "Like I said before, you were the love of my life, and you always will be. I knew I could count on you."

Suddenly Wilson burst out of the hospital's doors, breathing hard from a long jog down several flights of stairs. He'd been too impatient to wait for the elevator.

"Oh, James!" Stacy breathed. "I…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Wilson hated to not be in the know, so this was a great and terrible injustice to him.

"Greg will explain it to you. I have to go…now. Goodbye, James. You were a good friend. Help Greg, please. With…everything." She cast a glance at the bag on the ground and lingered on the baby in House's arms. She wrapped her arms around James in a goodbye hug. She got in the car, started the engine, and was gone.

"Could you please explain to me what the_ hell_ you're doing with a **_baby_**?"

**house house house house**

A/N: So, what do you think? I hope you liked it, I thought it was ok. I hope this is long enough…I'm going to try and get another chapter up today. As always R&R!!


	4. You're Leaving Footprints On My Heart

Disclaimer: Ditto from the other 3 chapters. Still don't own 'em. I only own Addison. No, I didn't steal this story. No, you may not steal this story. K thanks.

A/N: SPOILERS, YE BE WARNED! END OF SEASON TWO SPOILERS IN THE FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS ALONE! Also some swearing. Read at your own risk… I liked the last chapter, so I decided to update today! I felt the muse. Lol. Um, yeah. The breaks will still be **HouseHouseHouse**. Check out my other story! I made a new one today. I was a busy girl today on my day off of school . R&R! Por favor!

**HouseHouseHouse**

"Let me repeat, what the hell are you doing with a baby?" Wilson asked, disbelief written all over his face.

"I'll explain later. First, we have something important to do with this baby, this…Addison. Addie." He tried out the name, feeling it in his mouth, knowing he would possibly be saying it for the next 17 years and three months.

Wilson shook his head. "How do you get yourself mixed up in this stuff? Only you."

"Yeah, and your life is so normal. Excuse me, could you please remind me who got a divorce from his wife, moved in to sleep on MY lumpy couch, only to leave my lumpy couch because he had an affair with a dying patient? Yeah, the fact that I have a daughter is a LOT weirder than that…"

"A DAUGHTER? SHE'S YOURS?!"

As if on cue, the baby decided to make herself noticed by starting to scream when Wilson raised his voice.

"God, look at what you've done, now! I have no idea how to take care of this kid, and you're making it 300 times worse by making me…"

"Parent?" Wilson filled in sarcastically.

"YEAH. Shh, shh, it's okay, um, Addis, it's ok."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "What do we have to do now?" His eyes got wide and he gasped when House tried to switch the baby from one hip to the other and almost dropped her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Give me that!" Wilson yelled, extracting the baby from House's arms. "You've no idea what you're doing!"

"No need to yell, Uncle Jimmy. Daddy House has been doing his best since he got the little rugrat." House grinned an evil grin. 'Well, at least he's back…'thought Wilson.

"Come on, let's get her into the hospital. She needs tests run on her." House said, grabbing the diaper bag and telling Wilson to grab the car seat which Stacy had conveniently left, and limping towards the hospital entrance.

"What tests? She's not sick. No fever," he said, laying a hand across the child's forehead. No answer from 'Daddy House' up front, though. Wilson sighed.

Wilson had managed to hush Addie as they walked towards the front door, but Cuddy's screeching managed to set the baby off again.

"WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?! Wilson, at least I know you checked in before running around outside the hospital, but _you_," she said, glaring her death glare at House, who lifted his eyes towards the ceiling and rocked back and forth on his feet, "_you_ haven't even been in the hospital today! You're an hour and a half late, House! I can't _do this_ anymore and…**_awwww_**, who does she belong to? And why are you holding her, Dr. Wilson?" Cuddy dropped the psycho-clown from "Saw" voice immediately upon registering Addie.

"She's uh, uh, uh…" Wilson mumbled, dropping his gaze to his feet and trying to edge past House.

"She's Stacy's. Dropped by for a little visit. She'll be back later to pick the ankle biter up. Why? Do you waaant it, Cuddy? Hmmm?"

She blushed at being caught out of her administrative attitude, but still managed to remain a little soft. "Well, that's fine, then. Just as long as she's not a permanent fixture in the hospital. And tell Stacy to come by when she picks up, um…" she trailed off, unsure of the baby's name.

"Addison." House said softly, stroking the dark hair absently on top of Addie's head.

"When she comes to pick up Addison. And get working on your clinic hours straight away. Clinic duty started at 9 for you, House. Things must continue on as normal." And Cuddy was gone, click-clacking down the hallway.

"Get A.B. into the nearest exam room. I need to run a PCR test." House said to Wilson, walking towards Exam Room Three.

"A.B.? And you're having doubts that she's yours? There's no need to run a paternity test, House, look at her eyes." Wilson said, never-the-less trailing after his best friend as usual.

"I need to see for myself. And A.B. stands for Ankle-Biter. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Knowing you, I would have thought you'd have been more apt to calling her 'Poop Monster' or 'Little Pain in my Ass' or 'Little Mistake'." Wilson said, closing the door to the exam room softly so as not to startle the now gently slumbering Addie.

"Now, now, Uncle Jimmy. There's no need to be cruel. Just trying to endear myself towards the little Poop Monster." House swabbed the crook of his arm with an alcohol swab and winced slightly as the needle passed through his arm. He took some blood, and labeled it clearly with "Gregory House" on the outside of the tube.

"Now, for the hard part. Bring her over here, Uncle Jimmy, so I can show A.B. just how smart and excellent her daddy is at taking blood."

Wilson took the baby over to House and said, "Just be gentle."

"Hey, whose kid is this? Allegedely" He muttered, sticking a clean needle into Addie's arm, sending her into fits of screams. "Shh, shh, Addie. Daddy's almost done…" He stopped at the sound of his voice saying "Daddy". He wasn't her daddy. Couldn't be…

House wrote clearly on the side of the tube "Addison Warner" and said, "Uncle Jimmy, can you shut her up? She's giving me a headache."

While Wilson soothed Addis, he said, "Three questions: Why am I doing all the work for your daughter, not that I mind? Why did you lie to Cuddy about Addison? And three: Are you going to change her last name?"

House bandaged Addie's arm with a bright orange band aid and said, "Because you're good at it, because if I told Cuddy she was mine before I knew, she'd be all over me all day, asking questions, and I don't know. Depends if she's even mine." He said softly.

Wilson had finally lulled Addie back to sleep and slid her into the car seat. "Do you want her to be yours?"

"I don't know. Kind of. I'm just…afraid of…"

"Afraid of what, House?"

"I guess I'm afraid that if she is mine, I'll screw her up so badly. I mean, I would be shaping the life of another human being. What happens if she turns out be like me?"

"Yeah, you're right. That's a legitimate concern. The world doesn't need another Gregory House, especially in a female form. Can you imagine what you would be like on your period?" Wilson asked with a straight face, then cracked a smile. "Relax, Greg. You've got a chance to do some good here. You're not going to screw it up."

"DON'T CALL ME GREG. And thanks." He muttered. "Guess I better send these off to the lab, see if she's my daughter."

Suddenly, someone's head popped into the room. "See if who's your daughter?!"

**HouseHouseHouse**

A/N: UH OH CLIFFHANGER!! Who's the mysterious voice? And tell me, who honestly doesn't like the movie, "Saw"? It's pretty darn amazing. R&R PLEASE!! And thanks to all my loyal reviewers so far!


	5. It's Going To Be A Long And Hard Night

Disclaimer: Same as all of the other chapters. Characters are owned by FOX. K thanks!

A/N: THANK YOU for all the amazing reviews! Especially to bones4life, you rock my socks! I'm working realllly hard on this story and I think it's showing, and I'm glad you all like it! Breaks, again, will be HouseHouseHouse.

HouseHouseHouse

Dr. Allison Cameron had poked her head into Exam Room Three to ask House about their patient, but decided to stick around for a whole other reason.

"She's yours?! YOU have a DAUGHTER?!" Her deep brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Stupid prank, House. You could have pulled a million other pranks without making Wilson steal a baby." She chuckled.

"CAMERON! Get the HELL out of here!" She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't kidding around, and he was NOT a happy camper right now. Well, he never was. But he was even LESS of one right now.

"OK, I'm sorry." She muttered, quickly turning around to leave the room. His screams had woken Addie, who seemed to be having the worst nap of her life. Wilson, of course, grabbed her and tried to soothe the cries.

"Cameron, wait. I'm sorry…I'm just…really stressed. Do me a favor and run a PCR on these samples. Thanks." She took the vials of blood from his hands and gasped.

"WARNER? Stacy's the MOTHER?" He gave her a death glare.

"I'll…explain everything later. Just do me another favor and don't say anything to anybody. Especcially Cuddy. She'll just be pissed I didn't tell her sooner." She stood there, thinking he wasn't done speaking. "Now, run along. BUH BYE."

And Cameron scurried away.

Satisfied that Cameron was gone and doing his bidding, and that he'd soon find out if A.B. was his, House turned to Wilson, who had, again, rocked Addie to sleep.

"Uncle Jimmy, can you do me the hugest favor ever? Can you keep an eye on her for today? Please? I know you don't have anything to do. Cuddy won't be all over your ass for not doing clinic duty, since you're ALWAYS on time, suck up."

"Berating me and insulting me may not be the best way for you to get what you want."

"Come on, please? Especially since you're good at it. I'm…not. Needless to say."

Wilson sighed and nodded. "Fine. But don't make a habit of it." Oh, who was he kidding? He was in his element, taking care of Addison. He loved to be needed.

They left the clinic room and slipped upstairs in the elevator without being noticed by anyone. Upstairs was where the problem was. How to get the baby past Foreman and Chase without being caught. They pondered for a moment before deciding that Wilson would wait with the baby where he couldn't be seen, and House would distract the team. Once Wilson saw it was clear, he would be free to slip into his office with Addison.

Once House was gone, Wilson whispered gently to the baby, "You're Daddy's sure going through a lot of trouble to make sure you're not seen until he's sure you're his. I've no doubt. You look just like him. He should be counting his blessings, Addie. He will, eventually. And he'll learn how to take care of you. Don't worry, he won't always need me."

Wilson heard a crack as House dropped a coffee mug on the floor, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

"Hopefully…"

HouseHouseHouse

The day passed without much event. House checked up on Wilson and the baby when he wasn't busy insulting his team or avoiding clinic duty. No one knew about the baby.

The day got quite a bit more eventful when Cameron pulled him aside at 3:30 in the afternoon. "There's something you need to see." She whispered, though Chase and Foreman caught it. They didn't care, however.

"The results of the PCR test." She said, where she, Wilson, House, and Addison had gathered in the lab.

"Well, House, what does it say?" Wilson demanded, like he didn't already know.

House sighed, a deep sigh. "It says, 'Congratulations, it's a girl." He cracked a small smile. "I guess this is good news."

Wilson and Cameron nodded. Cameron said, "Even if you think it's not, it is. You've got someone to love you. Never been that before…" she grinned, kidding around. He smiled back.

"I guess I should get her home. I guess I should get my daughter home."

HouseHouseHouse

They reached the parking lot, avoiding Cuddy by saying they had to drop Addie off at Stacy's place. "Yeah, I'll tell her to call you." He yelled as they walked to the parking lot.

House walked over to his motorcycle, and Wilson called, "No chance in hell! You can't put a BABY on a MOTORCYCLE! Are you insane?"

"No, really, Sherlock? God you just keep getting smarter by the minute. You take her and follow me to my apartment." Wilson gave him a look. "Well, I can't just leave my motorcycle here, can I, genius?"

HouseHouseHouse

"Where's she gonna sleep? Did you think about that?" Wilson asked as House banged into the apartment. The baby had started to fuss, so House dug around in the diaper bag, retrieved a pacifier, and plugged it in her mouth.

She promptly spit it out.

"She's HUNGRY, smart one." Wilson said, digging into the bag and finding a jar of baby peaches. "Do you know how to do this?"

"No, don't you?" House asked, panicking.

"Actually, no. I've never fed a baby before."

"Oh, crap. Well, I guess we'll have to give it our best shot." He twisted the lid off of the container and dumped it in a green bowl that he'd also found In the bag. "Do we warm it up? Oh, hell who cares." He got a rubbery spoon out of the bag and scooped some up. "Here we go, Addis, open for the plane. Choo choo."

"PLANES DON'T GO CHOO CHOO!"

"Well, what do you want me to say, Open up for the plane, whirr whirr, go the propellers?"

"You're an imbecile. Give me that." Wilson spooned the peaches in. She got them everywhere, but in the end, must've got some of them because she looked happy and full. "There. YOU'RE WELCOME."

"THANKS." House shot him a snide grin before picking her up. "She's a mess. Bath time?"

"No idea how to do that, either. Plus, what did I say before? Where is she gonna sleep?"

House didn't have time to answer that question because the phone rang. He limped over and grabbed it in the middle of the second ring. "Hello? Oh. Wow. Well, thank you for calling. I don't…no. I don't know. Next of kin? Look, her…aunt lives in Memphis. Yes, it's fine. Ok. Thanks, bye."

"Who was that?" Wilson asked curiously.

"That was Princeton General. Stacy…Stacy's dead." Sorrow washed over him.

"What did she die of, House? And thank you SO MUCH for letting me know that this baby is really yours." Lisa Cuddy said from the doorway.

HouseHouseHouse

A/N: Sorry if that wasn't the greatest chapter. Please R&R though! I'll work a lot harder on the next one, promise!


	6. Can I Have Everyones Attention, Please

Disclaimer: Same from all the other chapters. They all belong to FOX. 'Cept for Addison. She's mine, hands off.

A/N: **_Spoilers!_** PLEASE R&R You guys have been amazing so far with the reviews! Thank you sooo much! Plus, I've written a few one-shot, check them out! HouseHouseHouse, as always, will be the breaks.

**HouseHouseHouse**

"Jeez, Cameron's got a big mouth…"House muttered. He truly, for once in his life, had nothing to say. He'd been in a lot of weird circumstances in his life, but this was by far the most awkward.

"Cameron? I haven't talked to her all day, House!" Cuddy raged.

"No one else knew. Who told you?" Wilson asked, cleaning up the peaches on the counter from their miserable attempt at feeding the little ankle biter.

"Foreman. You mean Cameron knows too?"

House's jaw dropped. "FOREMAN told you? Then that means Chase knows too. Well at least now I won't have to spread around the news that I'm a Daddy."

Cuddy softened at the word "Daddy". He wasn't the Dad type, but she supposed anyone could do it if they had the passion. But did House have the passion to care for this little girl. "What did Stacy die of?" She asked.

"Pancreatic cancer." He said, sadly. He would miss her. Despite everything that had gone on between the two of them, a part of him still loved her. A big part.

Tears formed in Cuddy's eyes. Stacy had been a friend. No doubt she'd said goodbye to House. Wilson, too, probably. Why hadn't she deemed it necessary to say goodbye to Lisa?

"Cuddy, House is going to need some time off…"Wilson began, but House wouldn't let him finish.

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do! You have a kid, now! You need to get everything in working condition here! Get a crib, diapers, and baby proof this death trap!"

House glared at Wilson. "Who are you to say my apartment isn't good enough to take care of my daughter in?" He stopped. Was he starting to feel something for this little girl?

Cuddy was deep in thought.

"House, look at this place. Where are you supposed to put everything she's going to need? WHERE IS SHE GOING TO SLEEP TONIGHT?" Wilson repeated for, what felt like, the millionth time.

"House, Wilson's right. For god's sake, there's a butcher knife on your coffee table…" Cuddy said absently. Then, she pushed thoughts of Stacy out of her mind and put on her business woman/Mommy hat at the same time. "What are you going o do about your sleeping arrangement?" She asked then eyed Wilson. "And we certainly can't leave him alone with her, not the first night. He'll drop her on her head."

"I WILL NOT!" He stated indignantly. Why did everyone assume he wasn't capable of caring for the little rugrat?

"You're right, Cuddy. I guess I can stay here, since you two alone? You'd most certainly kill each other."

"HELLO, YOU TWO! I can take care of my baby without Wilson spending the night!"

"Fine…" Cuddy sighed. "Maybe you can run out and get a crib. Take House's credit card. Or maybe you and House should go; he should be allowed to pick out the crib his kid's going to be sleeping in…Where did they go?" Cuddy suddenly realized that House and the baby were gone!

Suddenly they heard splashing and little laughter coming from the bath room. They silently headed to the bathroom and watched as House lovingly washed the little wisps of dark hair coming from Addie's head with baby shampoo. He shielded her eyes with a clean washcloth as he poured water over her head to wash it out.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Cuddy asked. "And where did the baby shampoo come from?"

"Two questions deserve two answers." House said, keeping his eyes averted to the baby. "One: About right where I'm sitting. And two: Her diaper bag. Stacy included a few essentials for the first night."

"Oh. Wow." Wilson muttered. Who knew his bestest buddy could do something like that?

"Yeah. Now there's a few things we need to get straight." House wiped a wash cloth across Addie's bare chest. "I appreciate you guys trying to help, and I need some of it, too. But I don't want you guys to treat me like I'm a complete idiot. I am somewhat of an idiot, but not a complete one." He grinned wryly. "And give me a chance to speak before deciding to take control of my entire life. Now, Stacy said she left all of Addie's stuff in a storage facility. I'm assuming that means crib, playpen, dressers and clothes. Then, House put on HIS business men hat.

"Cuddy, Wilson and I are going to get the crib and some other stuff while you stay here and watch A.B. OK? When she lets you know she wants to get out of the bath, put her in her pajamas and I guess, I don't know, do… **_baby_** things with her. Just do me a favor and don't teach my daughter your road whore act. Awwww, don't look so upset. Maybe next year." He grinned.

They were both visually stunned. Who knew that House could take control like that? They both nodded silently.

"Well, come on, Wilson." House and his newly acquired take charge attitude walked out of the bathroom.

**HouseHouseHouse**

A/N: I'm sooo sorry this is so short! I wanted to write a ton more about all of the baby's things and his first night with her, but my Psych teacher doesn't know all this. So he assigned a butt load of homework. Whore. Lol I'll try to get a longer one up tomorrow.


	7. I'm At War With Head vs Heart

Disclaimer: Same as the other chapters. I don't own any of the characters except for Addison. This is my own story, so please don't steal it. K Thanks!!

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I've been sick, busy with school stuff, plus there's the grounding I received. Hey, I'm a good girl! winks Breaks will be HouseHouseHouse, like always. **Minor swearing. There might be some spoilers I overlooked.** Thanks for reviewing! Bones4life is frickin amazing. So keep on R&Ring!

**HouseHouseHouse**

House and Wilson walked out of the apartment, listening to Addison shrieking and splashing in the bathtub. They climbed into Wilson's car and drove away to a little place called "Anderson's Safe Storage".

House was silent the whole way. He was feeling a little funny after his outburst. People who actually cared what went on in other's lives did things like that. He could give a shit. About anyone.

So Wilson was the first one to speak. "You, ah…you really took charge back there." Wilson cleared his throat. God, this was way beyond awkward. "I'm ah… sorry I've been treating you like you're a moron. You're not. You can, ah, you can do this." He stuttered. This was foreign territory. "We weren't trying to make you feel…"

House interrupted. "I know. I know you guys weren't trying to make me feel like that, but the fact is, you were. I need to do some of this on my own. What happens when the kid's 9 and refuses to listen to me? Refuses to take me seriously? She'll only listen to her Uncle Jimmy?"

Wilson looked at him incredulously. "You're thinking that far ahead?" House had never been serious in his life.

"Duh." House grinned. "Make a right here."

So, Wilson did and they turned into the driveway.

**HouseHouseHouse**

After a consultation with Anderson himself about the location of the storage locker, they found number 207 and yanked the door up. They saw everything under the sun when they did.

The crib was in one of the corners, neatly stacked and taken apart. The instructions were on top of it in a plastic bag. Filling up the rest of the storage locker was pretty much everything you'd need to raise a baby, Wilson thought. Except love, time, attention and money. And those were the most important things.

There were two cherry wood dressers that matched the crib. There was also a rocking chair, and several big plastic tubs with lids that House presumed were full of…he peeled back the lids. Clothes. Lots and lots and lots of tiny pink little clothes. Little socks, little pants, little shirts, little dresses. He marveled at it all. This kid's wardrobe was 20 times better than his. It was clear that she'd been loved.

There were also boxes and boxes of toys. "She's spoiled." He remarked, raising his eyebrows and leaning on his cane. There were all kinds of toys. Toys that spun, toys that lit up, toys that opened and closed. Dolls, books, action figures, little electronics. "How in the hell could a 9 month old possible use all these toys??" He asked Wilson.

"Well, I guess Stacy and Mark wanted her to have the best. She deserves it House. I've only known her for a few hours…" he muttered. "But she's a good baby. She'll grow up to be a good girl."

House shook off the compliment and continued on. There were blankets in some more storage tubs. Another one contained nothing but washcloths and towels. Tiny baby washcloths and towels, and a hooded towel that looked like a duck. "Awwww," Wilson exclaimed, then he became embarrassed at the look House threw him. It was a look that clearly read, "You give disgrace to the word man."

There were stuffed animals, more shampoo and conditioner and baby lotion and baby body wash. "Stacy thought of everything," House said.

"I guess we better get going. Cuddy's no doubt taught my daughter the joys of wonders of learning to be a stripper by now." House muttered sarcastically and walked over to the crib. "I guess… grab some blankets and a stuffed animal out of that tub over there. Do you think we need anything else?"

"I truly don't know." Wilson said, but grabbed three blankets, a stuffed duck, the kid seemed to have a duck fetish, and loaded it into the car. Then he moved back to help an awkward looking House load the heavy pieces of crib into the car.

**HouseHouseHouse**

They arrived back at the apartment to find Cuddy frantically trying to soothe an uncontrollable, sobbing Addie. "Shh, Addison! You be quiet right now!"

"Trying your naughty administrator attitude on her? It won't work until she gets old enough to learn the importance of the words 'thong panties.'" He smirked. Strike three, in just one night! For being a new daddy, he wasn't doing too badly on his joke quota.

"HOUSE!" She yelled, which sent Addie into louder hysterics. The poor kid just couldn't catch a break today.

"Come here, Addie," Wilson said soothingly and reached for her. But to everyone's surprise, she backed away from Wilson's arms and almost threw herself out of Cuddy's arms at House.

"Who, me?" He asked her. Wilson rolled his eyes.

"Of course, you! You're her father."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that!" House muttered.

Again with the eye rolling. "Just pick her up, House."

He pondered it for a moment. The kid was just sitting there, asking, begging, really, to be held. What the heck? He'd already bathed the little goober. He reached his arms out and picked her up. "Don't start thinking this'll be a regular thing, little A.B." He told her, bouncing her lightly.

To his surprise, his heart warmed when the Ankle Biter laid her head on his shoulders sleepily. Her little body relaxed as she began to fall asleep. Cuddy's expression softened and Wilson stood there happily with his hands on hips in his 'superhero' stance.

She _was_ cute. Especcially in sleep. In sleep, it seemed impossible that this amazing little creature could poop like nobody's business and owned the finest set of lungs any doctor had ever seen. Her tiny pink lips were softly parted and her breathing was soft and regular.

House sat as gracefully as he could with a nine month old and a crippled leg. He was completely oblivious to the fact that Cuddy and Wilson had started to assemble the crib.

"Where do you want it, House?" Wilson asked a half hour later. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and tried to break through House's happy reverie.

"I guess spare bedroom." He said softly. Once Cuddy and Wilson had moved it, he gently placed her in the crib and threw a blanket over her lightly.

His face suddenly turned bright red. He'd been caught with his guard down. Stupid little poop machine, making him all… soft and mushy. He'd made a vow to himself.

When Stacy had placed the bundle of pink in his arms, he'd _promised_ himself he wouldn't change who he was. No way some stupid little, little baby, was going to change a lifetime of not caring what the world threw at him. It wouldn't. He wouldn't let her.

**HouseHouseHouse**

House walked the two to the door.

"You sure you don't want me here?" Wilson asked.

"NO."

"OK." Wilson said. Cuddy nodded.

"I won't expect you in tomorrow, House. And I know you don't want any help, but…she's welcome in the hospital anytime. If you feel it necessary to be there, which it's not, she's welcome. Good night."

"Good night, and thank you." he muttered. Cuddy left.

Wilson slapped House awkwardly on the back and left, also.

**HouseHouseHouse  
**

As soon as he was sure both had left, he turned to the black diaper bag.

He reached into the side pocket and pulled out a thick stack of letters addressed to him. The one on top said, "Open the first night you have her, before bed."

He didn't bother reading the rest of the envelopes right then. Instead, he just slid his thumb under the flap and pulled out the letter.

HouseHouseHouse

A/N: What does the letter say????? I thought this was a pretty good chapter. Again, sorry it took so long!! R&R!!! THANKS!


	8. The Timing Is Quite Unusual

Disclaimer: Same as from all the other chapters.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing!! You guys are amazing. SPOLERS from season two. Breaks are the usual.

**HouseHouseHouse**

House crouched on the floor and opened the envelope. He unfolded the pieces of paper and inhaled deeply. What in the world was this going to do to him? Now that Stacy was gone…

He settled his eyes on the first line. It said, "Dear Greg." So this was going to be a normal letter, not a letter from the woman who had just given her baby up and was dying. Oh. OK.

"Dear Greg. I know that right now, you're probably really confused."

"You've got THAT right!" He muttered.

"And you're probably wondering just what the hell is going on. You probably want facts, figures, information to justify this. I know you. And I know your pathological need to simplify things. And I also know how you discard everything that isn't cold, hard facts. But the truth is, this isn't intellectual. The decision to give Addie to you didn't come as easily as you might have thought it did."

His breathing quickened. Knowing that this was coming from Stacy was a lot harder than he thought. But he kept reading.

"I turned it over in my mind. Over and over. I thought about how a foster family might care for her better, maybe love her more. But then I thought about our relationship, and the way you loved me. And I knew right then that you could take care of her, and love her. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I also knew you would be able to do it."

"How can she have this much confidence in me?" He wondered. "How does she know that I won't screw up?"

"Right now, you're probably tired. And crankier than usual. And all you want to do is go to bed and not think about how in four or five hours, you're going to have get up and care for her. Well, you better get used to it, buddy, because that feeling right there isn't going to go away. You should have been there during her newborn days. And you're lucky that her colic is winding down. But I'll bet she starts cutting her teeth soon, which means fun for you!"

"Great. More screaming." He thought.

"You're probably wondering when all this started. The cancer thing with me. Well, I went to the doctor because my stomach and lower back were killing me. And he ran some tests, blood tests, took images of me, and found a very large, inoperable mass on my pancreas. He gave me about 6 months to live. It was the worst news I'd ever gotten. To know I would have to leave my husband and baby. It shattered my world and everything around me. But, ironically, the first thing I thought of when he told me I was dying, was you."

He was touched. He didn't want to be, but he was.

"I thought of how I never got a chance to make things right. Well, I'm trying right now. I'm sorry for hurting you. I know I already told you on the phone. But you better know that if I could, I would take everything back. I don't regret being with Mark. I love him. But I love you too."

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Well, I'm going to let you get some sleep. Well, as much as you can before you have to get up and take care of Addie. Tell her that her mommy loves her. There are several more letters, timeline staged, and there are some for Addie, too. Good night. Sleep tight. Love, Stacy."

He shoved the letter roughly back into the envelope. Damn it. He wasn't supposed to feel so emotional. He roughly pulled out the letters and flipped through them, vaguely reading the words, "After first week is over." "After first month." "Her first birthday." "After your first year with her." And there were others. God. She'd anticipated that he would keep her. Not pawn her off on someone.

And she'd been right.

He limped to the guest bedroom, well, Addie's bedroom, and looked at her, sleeping so angelically in her crib. She didn't know about the world yet. How cruel it could be. It didn't care who it felled with things like cancer. It would take a mother and wife, so loved and needed, without so much as a tear shed.

It would cripple a man's leg, he thought, gripping his cane, without thinking of what the man might be losing. It would take away a loved one, or someone you relied on. And it didn't care.

But she would learn. And he could try, as hard as he could, to protect her from the world, but it wouldn't work.

Because eventually, Addison Warner, soon to be Addison House, would know that, while it had its good parts, the world was a terrible, unforgiving thing.

House looked at his watch. 1:00AM. God, it was late. Stacy was right. Time to get to bed.

But suddenly, his pager went off. It was from Cameron, at the hospital. Their patient's heart rate was messed up. He was on pads to manually pump his heart. He had to get there right now, ASAP, to brainstorm for ideas, or the patient would be dead in a day, max. She was sorry to bug him.

He looked at the baby again. How was he supposed to get to the hospital with her?

**HouseHouseHouse**

A/N: I took that case from an episode in the first season. Oh, yeah, and I've officially decided House has a car now. Forget the motorcycle mentioned earlier. And I don't know any of the medical logistics. K. R&R!!!!!!!!


	9. Im Ashamed Of My Life Because It's Empty

Disclaimer: Same as from all other chapters.

A/N: Thanks for reviewing! **SPOILERS!** Some swearing. Breaks are the same as usual. R&R!

**Househousehouse**

Why couldn't he just learn to ignore his pager? Or better yet: why not be completely technologically retarded and think that the only way to stop the beeping was to throw it against the wall and watch it shatter into 1,000 pieces?

But no. He'd had to answer it. OK. Think.

Did he have to go? Maybe he could just tell Cameron that he'd taken out the batteries. He could see himself telling her:

"After all, Cameron, I've got a baby now. I have to think of her first. She wouldn't want to be waken by an incessant beeping noise, now would she? Besides, I'm not feeling so well, either."

He chuckled. She'd get that wounded little Cameron look, the one that said, "I'm so sorry I wasn't thinking, please forgive me." And some of it was true. He wasn't feeling so well. He had a pretty bad cough, not to mention he was feeling pretty weak. Weaker than his normal leg-pain weak.

But then he thought of the other side. If he didn't give a call to say he was on his way, Cameron or any of the others would start calling his apartment. And let's face it: he was worried about waking the baby and having to deal with her himself.

He knew that pretty soon he would have to take care of her himself, anyways. But this situation couldn't end well either way. It was either ignore the page and wake Addie up by the phone ringing, or wake Addie up by getting her ready to go to the hospital.

He chose the latter.

**Househousehouse**

"It's House. I'll be right there. I have to get the baby ready and then I'll be on my way. Yeah, bye." He hung up from talking to Chase, who'd sounded confused by the human tone in House's voice.

He pulled a black t-shirt over his head to replace the white pajama shirt, and a pair of blue jeans on instead of the green plaid PJ pants. He pocketed his black cell phone and limped over to the black diaper bag he'd thrown on the couch. He coughed thickly and shivered.

How were you supposed to pack a diaper bag? What were you supposed to make sure was in it?

Diapers, probably. OK. Check.

Food? A little tape of Wilson's voice was playing in his head. _Greg pack this. No, Greg. Don't pack that. _

Yeah, food. There was some in there. Some kind of…green mush that didn't look too appetizing. But it wasn't like Addie was going to be able to tell the difference between peaches and peas.

Wilson's "Mama Duckling" voice played over in his head. "Now, House. What do you expect to feed her with? Your hands?" OK, maybe a spoon would be good. Yep, there was one left over from when he'd fed her earlier. Not like a few dried-up, left over peaches ever hurt anybody…

He thought of the next one on his own: an extra outfit. He thought of the baby's in the NICU at the hospital. Goobery, slobbery little things. They spit up all the time. Maybe two extra outfits, considering his success at feeding her earlier.

He sifted through the mess of clothes him and Wilson had brought home earlier. Lots of pink, frilly things. Oh, whatever. He grabbed two semi-frilly somethings that looked fairly easy to put on and shoved them into the bag.

Wilson's voice again: "Is she going to get thirsty, House?" Check. Bottles were already in there.

What else? Geez, this baby stuff was getting to be a pain in the ass. And it wasn't even his second day yet.

Whatever. He stopped thinking and tossed in a blanket and little socks then zipped up the bag.

He shoved a pair of sneakers on his feet and went to get Addison.

**Househousehouse**

She was still softly slumbering, one thumb in her mouth. He hated to wake her out of that state. So angelic, so adorable, so…quiet.

But he reached into the crib and picked her up, waiting for the screaming to start.

However, it didn't. She was still asleep in his arms. He just stared at her gently and tried to suppress a deep cough.

Was he going to start worrying about what would happen to her?

Would she, likewise, do the same?

A voice echoed in his mind. His mother's. After Stacy had left him, she'd been heartbroken. She'd thought that her boy would finally settle down. But he hadn't, he'd just succeeded in keeping another out. So, she'd given him a little friendly advice:

"You've got to let people in, Greg. Give people a chance to love you. Stop thinking the worst of yourself."

He wasn't worried anymore about seeing the worst in himself. He was worried about Addison seeing the worst in him.

What if this little girl couldn't see anything good about him? What if, she hated him?

Worse, what if she saw what he saw? That his life was empty.

**Househousehouse**

He swung the diaper bag around his neck and picked up the car seat containing a baby. He limped into the hallway and softly shut the door, then loaded her into his car.

He turned the engine over and drove to the hospital.

**Househousehouse**

Wilson, of course, was waiting in the lobby for him. He saw how hard it was for House to walk and took the baby, leaving him with the diaper bag.

"I see you got her here safe and sound," he said sleepily.

House nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you coughing a mile away. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." As if on cue, a thick coughing started and Wilson stopped and waited. He grabbed a tissue from the box conveniently near him and handed it to House.

House coughed into it then peered at what was inside.

"Everything OK?" Wilson asked again. House slowly shook his head no and showed him the thick, bloody sputum in the tissue.

**Househousehouse**

A/N: Oh, boy, House is getting sick! Getting a bit angsty. So, how'd you like it? R&R!


	10. It Looks Like You Might Fall So Far Down

Disclaimer: Same as the other chapters.

A/N: R&R please! This chapter is mainly gonna focus on his illness. This is a weird illness I read about online. ALL OF THIS INFO IS NOT DEFINITELY RIGHT. I just looked up random stuff on the net with the symptoms of what he has, and put it in. I'm not a doctor so don't trust me. K thanks!

**Househousehouse**

Wilson didn't panic. Or at least he tried not to.

"OK. OK, OK, OK. This is bad."

"I'm fine," House whined softly, although he really wasn't. "This could just be from coughing so much. I've got a cold." He muttered.

"That much blood is not just from coughing." Wilson said, inhaling deeply. "We've got to-We've got to get you admitted and run tests."

"You're not admitting me to the hospital at 1:30 in the morning because I coughed up a little blood. I'll be fine."

"House, this is serious! You've got to start thinking about taking care of yourself. What about Addison? What would she do without you? This could be…cancer, TB, pneumonia, many things!" he swallowed. He was skeptical.

"I'm the diagnostician…" he said. He was about to warn Wilson of what would happen if he wouldn't leave him alone, when he felt tightening in his chest. It hurt. "Ow."

"House? House, where does it hurt, what's the matter? HOUSE!" Wilson yelled.

"My chest hurts."

Wilson quickly passed the baby's car seat to a nurse who'd worriedly wandered over to see what was wrong with the doctor she generally hated.

OK. With House clutching his chest and breathing raggedly, Wilson was now officially worried. But he managed to take control. He pushed a wheelchair over and gently pushed House down into it.

As he pushed House, who had stopped grumbling over the pain, into the ER, he called over his shoulder to the nurse, "Page Dr. Cuddy stat! Give her the baby and tell her what's happened!"

**Househousehouse**

An hour later, House was lying in a bed in his hospital room, staring off into space. He'd been told to sleep, like he didn't know to do that already. But he couldn't. He kept thinking about what a terrible father he was.

What kind of Dad just left his kid without finding out what was going to happen with her? He didn't deserve her.

He'd been situated in his room by a nurse, who'd promised she would pass on a list of his most recent symptoms, and Wilson had gone off to find the team to brainstorm on ideas. He'd made sure he cooperated. He wanted to get better so that he could get back to living his life with his daughter, and basically, figuring her out.

**Househousehouse**

"OK. So he's got chills, night sweats, loss of appetite, chest pain and weakness. Plus he's coughing up bloody sputum. What's wrong?" Wilson asked, capping the dry erase marker. He was emotionally drained. His best friend was sick, **again**.

Cameron was standing, staring, into a corner. Chase was seated, his head in his hands. Foreman was staring off into space, presumably thinking. Cuddy was pacing back and forth, occasionally looking at the baby, who was still gently sleeping. She had no idea that her daddy was ill, possibly gravely.

Wilson twisted the marker around and around in his fingers. "Anybody? Ideas?"

Everyone just looked at him with wide eyes. "He's not gonna get better from you all just sitting there looking dumbly at me! Give me ideas!" He yelled angrily.

"Don't yell at us! Don't stand there and pretend you're not JUST as worried!" Cameron said angrily. Tears were forming in her pretty puppy dog eyes.

But Wilson wouldn't back down. "IDEAS!" He was scared, so he was resorting to yelling, something he hardly ever did.

Foreman looked at him. "Bloody sputum, weakness. It could be a clot in the lungs."

"No severe breathing issues." Wilson said.

"Could be developing." Foreman said. Wilson nodded…

"Tuberculosis, or pneumonia could cause bloody sputum, weakness, loss of appetite, sweats." Chase piped up.

"What about Wegener's?" Cuddy asked.

Cameron was crying softly in the corner. Everybody tried not to notice and let her have her little moment.

"You're all forgetting chest pain! Should we just exclude that, or what?!" He yelled. They were giving him ideas, but it wasn't good enough! They couldn't take their time on this, this was House!

All at once, every single one of them said, "STRESS."

Cuddy said, "James, he's going through a hell of a lot right now. New baby he never knew about? I'm thinking pretty stressful, causes, a panic attack." She whispered in his ear, "Calm down. You're not doing yourself any good getting all worked up. We'll figure it out. We will."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "OK, I guess we'll start with those. Um, I guess we should get an X Ray for a clot and pneumonia, plant a PPD for tuberculosis, and a complete blood panel for Wegener's, and pneumonia too."

They all, except for Wilson, ran off to do their tests.

Wilson picked up Addison, who had just awoken. Only the baby noticed the tiny tear that slipped out of Wilson's eyes.

**Househousehouse**

"You OK?" Foreman asked Cameron outside House's room. Cuddy had gone off to schedule the chest X Ray and Chase had gone off to get a PPD. Cameron and Foreman were left to do the blood panel.

Cameron wiped her eyes and smiled slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Let's just get this figured out so he can get back to being miserable." She forced a smile and opened the door to his room.

"What's the thinking?" he pounced on the both of them as soon as they entered the room. "I should be a part of the differential!"

"Shhh… Don't get worked up." Cameron said, as Foreman got the test tubes out.

Foreman rolled his eyes, not particularly caring if House got worked up. "Right now we're thinking TB, Pneumonia, Wegener's or lung clot. Cuddy's got you scheduled for a chest X Ray in a half hour and Chase should be back soon so we can plant a PPD. We're drawing blood cultures for Wegener's."

House stared off into space silently while they began drawing blood. Suddenly he said, "Examine my sputum for blastomycosis while you're at it."

Cameron nodded, not even bothering to ask any questions. She knew he might be right.

Suddenly House said, "What's happening? Where am I? What are you doing? God, my head is killing me."

"House?" Foreman asked, taking out his penlight. "House? Can you hear me? It's Foreman, and Cameron." He said to Cameron, "He's disoriented. What do you think that means?"

Cameron inhaled deeply, on the verge of tears again. "I don't know. But it can't be good."

**Househousehouse**

A/N: Soooo….good, or not? Let me know, R&R! thanks!


	11. And The First Thing That You'll Read Is:

Disclaimer: Same as all the other chapters. They're still not mine.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I don't know what happened, it's not like I didn't have ideas or anything, I just all of a sudden stopped writing this one and my other one…sorry. Thanks to all my faithful reviewers…now let's keep doing it! I'm also not a doctor…I googled some of this stuff, but it's not all completely correct. I don't know about the diagnosis of all the other stuff they think it is, like TB, Wegener's, lung clot…so don't take my word for it.

**Househousehouse**

Cuddy paced around House's office, gently rocking Addie, who was probably wondering why her daddy wasn't there to do it. Wilson was staring out the window, waiting for everyone to get back. It had been an hour and nobody had reported anything back yet.

Cuddy saw the worry in Wilson's eyes, so she plugged Addie's pacifier into her mouth and set her in her car seat. She walked over to Wilson. "James. Hey, we're doing everything we can. He's going to be fine. He's House!"

"I don't know, I just don't know. It's not fair. This stuff isn't supposed to happen to him."

"I know. It's not, but it did. And we will figure it out." She bit her lip to stop herself from crying, but didn't succeed. The tears spilled over. She was worried, too. As much as she tried to hide it, it wasn't working.

Wilson hugged her gently, and they were just clinging onto each other when the rest of the team burst in. Cuddy wiped her eyes, and so did James, and said, "Well, what do you find out?"

Chase said, "X Ray said no to a clot and pneumonia, but there is significant lung scarring. Blood work said no Wegener's and confirmed no pneumonia."

That was when Cameron piped up, "Examination of his sputum said no blastomycosis, and now he's experiencing neurological symptoms."

Wilson closed his eyes, and then looked at Cuddy. "It's just getting worse. OK, what are his newest symptoms?"

Foreman said, "Headaches and confusion. And it's bad. He couldn't remember where he was and didn't know what we were doing for a few minutes, so all that means no tuberculosis."

Suddenly, all three pagers went off at once. Wilson and Cuddy knew it was House even before the fear flew into Cameron's eyes. "Something's wrong. We gotta go, now!"

All five of them flew down the hallway, Addie in tow, into House's room.

**Househousehouse**

The nurse said, "His fever's 103.5, and he's still disoriented." House was shivering in his bed, looking like hell, when they came in.

Both Cameron and Cuddy started crying, Cameron more noticeably, and House's eyes flew back and forth between the two of them.

**Househousehouse**

Back in the office…

"We have to start working on this, now. The rate he's deteriorating…he won't make it two or three more days."

Wilson banged his head back and forth on the wall softly, until Cameron laid a reassuring hand on his back. "No use hurting yourself…" she murmured, and he stopped. Wilson took a few shaky breaths before saying, "Draw cultures from his sputum. He's still got some?"

The kids nodded. "What for?" Chase asked.

"I don't know! For everything you can think of, likely or not!" He yelled angrily, slamming his fist down on the table. "He's got a fever of 104, the chills, neurological symptoms, chest pain, he's coughing up bloody sputum! We're not doing anything right! We have to do something, and this is all I can think of! So just do it!"

Everybody scattered, even Cuddy.

"And get an MRI of his brain, while you're at it…" he told them as they fled. They nodded and kept going.

**househousehouse **

All four of them, minus Wilson and the baby, crowded around the computer screen at the results of the cultures, the MRI of House's brain pinned on the board behind them.

"Oh, my goodness." Cuddy.

"This…this is bad." Foreman said, stating the obvious.

**Househousehouse**

A/N: So, there you have it. CLIFFHANGER… r&r, I'll try my hardest to have an update tomorrow, if everyone likes it!


	12. I Hope I Can Find The Words To Say

Disclaimer: Yep. Same as all the others.

A/N: Last chapter? Possibly. No, next chapter will probably be the last one. Thanks for R&Ring! Remember, housefanforever08 is not a doctor, don't trust me, K??

**Househousehouse**

Cameron hung her head. House's fever was still high, but stable, around 103. He wasn't disoriented anymore, well, at least not at this point. It came and went. He said his head was still hurting, pounding, and he was still occasionally coughing up sputum. He wasn't getting any better. He was…dying.

But they knew what it was now. But what it was, was still bad. Why had Wilson and Cuddy picked her for this job? Why couldn't it have been Foreman or Chase? She hated doing things like this."

"Cameron? What is it? Tell me what I have." House had the baby cradled in his arms. She was sleeping for the moment, happy and content in her daddy's arms. But House wasn't the least bit happy or content. "I want to know. Now. Right now. You have a diagnosis, don't you?"

She nodded and bit her lip, brushing a piece of pretty brown hair out of her eyes. "You have…nocardiosis, a bacterial infection. Well, you know. It's spread to your brain, so…there's a huge chance you might not respond to treatment as well as we hope. You have several brain abscesses… here. And here, and here." She pointed to the MRI pinned to the board. "You're lucky that they haven't ruptured, you could have gotten meningitis."

"Yeah. I'm really lucky."

"House, you're gonna be fine. You will…you have to be." Cameron murmured. "We're going to get you started on a combination of…"

"Sulfonamides and, most likely…erythromycin. Am I correct?"

She stood back. "Um, yes. Ampicillin, too. You'll have to be on it for 12-18 months, you know. And we're going to schedule surgery soon to drain those abscesses." She hung the bag and injected the medication. She swallowed hard. "You should start feeling better soon."

"Cameron, the mortality rate with nocardiosis, even with treatment, is about 50. And when it's spread to the brain, the rate is about 80. I probably won't make it." He absently stroked A.B.'s hair.

Cameron sat on the edge of the bed and said, "No. No, don't talk like that."

"Like what, the truth? You never could handle the truth. Never. Well, I guess all I can do is –what does Wilson always say?-oh, yeah: 'hope for the best'". He scoffed, like it wasn't going to work.

She nodded. "There you go! Think positive." He rolled his eyes.

Wilson tapped on the glass to House's room. "Can I have a moment, Cameron?" He asked. She nodded, and stepped outside, giving House one long, last look, that obviously said, Don't give up.

"I'm guessing Cameron told you. Why did she act so…hurt puppy-ish when she left?" Wilson said uncomfortably.

"Yeah. And I told her."

He rolled his eyes. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her the truth. That I probably won't make it."

"I don't believe you. She cares about you. She's clinging to this diagnosis, clinging to the hope that you're gonna be ok, and you're ripping it all out from under her!"

"Ripping what out? All I'm trying to do is prepare her for the likelihood of my…death." He murmured quietly. It had suddenly hit him. His chances were not good. He probably wouldn't walk out of this hospital. He cast his eyes downward.

Wilson was about to think of a witty retort when House's expression changed. He sniffed the air. "Do you smell oranges?" House asked.

"No, what are you talking about?"

"Take the baby! Now, take the baby!" He called, shoving A.B. at Wilson. Wilson picked her up and said, "What?"

It was then that House had a seizure. Wilson pressed the call button, and got the meds started to stop the seizure. As House's body slowly stopped convulsing, Wilson muttered, "We have to get those abscesses drained, now."

**Househousehouse**

House was in surgery that afternoon, a full three days before they were going to do the surgery originally.

**Househousehouse**

Five days later, the whole team, including Cuddy and Wilson, were chatting happily. The surgery had gone well. House's abscesses had been successfully drained. His fever was coming down, slowly but surely. It was hovering at 101 now. He was still coughing up sputum, but it wasn't very bloody anymore.

Wilson was glad. Things were starting to improve. He went to tell House the good news.

**househousehouse **

"Hey! You're getting a lot better."

"I know. I'm right here." House said snarkily.

"Another sign you're getting back to normal; you snark is back." Wilson said, grinning. Then his voice changed. "At this rate… we're hoping for the best. We're pretty sure you'll keep getting better."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Me too…" He muttered and smiled. "Can you continue to watch Addie until I get out of the hospital?"

"Yeah, of course. We've all been taking turns. Cameron, Chase, and Foreman have really fallen for her."

"I knew they would." House smiled. "Thanks for uh…well, you know. Figuring this out."

Wilson nodded. "Look, House. You're my best friend. What did you think, I was going to let you die?"

"Half expected it. Look, I scared the nurse an hour ago into bringing me a extra pudding. Where the hell is she?"

That was House. Conning a nurse into bringing more pudding…Wilson thought.

"Look, Uncle Jimmy, you better bring the little Ankle Biter to see her Daddy soon, or you're going to become SuperHero Jimmy and fly out the window, 'cause I'll be throwing you out of it!"

Well, Wilson was HALF glad that House was returning back to normal.

**Househousehouse **

a/n: R&R! Second to last chapter I think…


	13. I'm So In Love With Her

Disclaimer: Same as all the other chapters, last time I checked.

A/N: Last chapter! Thank you sooo much to all of you who have reviewed this whole time. I really appreciate it. Hope you liked it. Breaks are househousehouse as per my usual. R&R this time too please.

**Househousehouse**

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Addie, happy birthday to you! Yay!" Wilson, Cuddy, Cameron, Foreman, Chase, and House sang to Addie, who was beaming between the five of them.

"Yay!" she clapped her little hands and smiled at all of them. Cameron took a knife and started to cut the cake, handing the first slice with the word "two" written in green icing to the birthday princess. It was Addison's second birthday.

"Two years old, oh my goodness!" Cuddy said, giving A.B. a kiss on the top of her head. "You're getting to be such a big girl!"

"Yeah, she is." House said quietly, smoothing her thick brown hair off of her forehead.

"Daddy, stop it!" She chastised him harshly. Living with House and being around the "team" had given her an extensive vocabulary, even at the age of two. She already knew "snark", "misanthropic" and (House's personal contribution,) "stubborn little ankle biter".

Wilson handed House a piece of cake and stabbed a fork into his own slice. "Hard to believe that it's been more than a year since you got her."

"Yeah. She's…pretty amazing. I can't believe I never wanted her. I mean…look at her. Well, you know what she's like." They both watched Addie jump out of her booster seat and run over to the pile of huge presents sitting in the corner.

"What's this one?!" She yelled.

"She has your big mouth." Wilson quipped, watching her climb on top of the big box. "Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"Hey, I'm fine, Uncle Jimmy. I've been fine for at least five months now. You can stop asking me that question. Don't you think I get it enough from Cameron? Ankle Biter, get off of there! You'll hurt yourself!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He muttered, watching House wrestling his two year old daughter off of the top of a large present.

Had it really only been little more than a year ago that House had been sick and gotten a daughter? He'd changed so much. All of them had.

"Cameron, help!" House called to her. Cameron was busy sticking forks into the dishwasher and throwing away plates, but broke away from it to help get Addie away from the presents.

"House, choose your battles. Just let her open the presents!" Cuddy called. "He's so damn stubborn." Cuddy said to Wilson.

"Fine." House grouched.

"Here, open this one, Addie." Chase said handing her a present wrapped in pink paper. She tore off the paper happily and pulled out a tea party set. She grimaced at it and looked at House.

"Daddy?"

"Say thank you to Uncle Wombat, Addie. Even if you don't like it. We can always take it back and get the money later." He whispered to her.

"Thanks, Uncle Robert…" she murmured, and made her way through the same thank you's to Foreman for giving her a Barbie car, and Cuddy for a pink dress up dress.

"It's time you got her some girl toys, House…" all three of them muttered.

Uncle Jimmy got her a mini license plate that said "Addison" on it and a gift certificate to Toys R Us. She made a confused face at the license plate and said, "Why, Uncle Jimmy?"

"You'll see, kiddo." He said, smiling secretly.

Cameron got her a little piano, and watched her squeal joyously. "Just like Daddy!" She said, immediately settling down to play out a tune.

"Hey, you forgot Daddy's gift, A.B!" House said, and then brought over the large box. She smiled and tore off the paper with a little help from her daddy. "YAY!" She screamed at what was inside the dark green wrapping paper, wrapped by Wilson.

It was…a giant ride-on monster truck. "Thank you, Daddy!" She yelled.

"That's what the license plate's for, Addie." Wilson said. She ran over and seized him around the legs in a hug, and then crashed into House's chest with her little arms.

"Thank you, Daddy!" She repeated. "I love you."

Nobody else heard it but Wilson, who was standing right next to House: "I love you, too, Addie." Wilson smiled a tiny smile, and took out his digital camera. He took a picture of the two and looked at it. Then he looked at the…monstrous monster truck. "Like father, like daughter." He said, and helped Addie and House rip the cardboard box to shreds.

**The End**

**Househousehouse**

A/N: Complete. How'd you like it? Feedback, please. And let me know about a possible sequel. Thanks! You guys are the greatest.


End file.
